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Colorado > Colorado Electoral Code > Fair Campaign Practices Act

1-45-115. Encouraging withdrawal from campaign prohibited

Overview of Statute

No person can offer or give any candidate or candidate committee any money or thing of value for the purpose of encouraging the candidate to withdraw. Candidates also cannot offer to withdraw a candidacy in return for money or any other thing of value.

Statute

No person shall offer or give any candidate or candidate committee any money or any other thing of value for the purpose of encouraging the withdrawal of the candidate’s candidacy, nor shall any candidate offer to withdraw a candidacy in return for money or any other thing of value.

 

Source: Initiated 96: Entire article R&RE, effective upon proclamation of the Governor, January 15, 1997.

Editor’s note: This section is similar to former § 1-45-119 as it existed prior to 1996.

Definition [Candidate committee]

A person, including the candidate, or persons with the common purpose of receiving contributions or making expenditures under the authority of a candidate. A contribution to a candidate shall be deemed a contribution to the candidate’s candidate committee. A candidate shall have only one candidate committee. A candidate committee shall be considered open and active until affirmatively closed by the candidate or by action of the secretary of state. Section 2(3) of article XXVIII of the state constitution.

Definition [Person]

Any natural person, partnership, committee, association, corporation, labor organization, political party, or other organization or group of persons. Section 2(11) of article XXVIII of the state constitution.

Definition [Section]

A bound compilation of initiative forms approved by the secretary of state, which shall include pages that contain the warning required by section 1-40-110 (1), the ballot title, the abstract required by section 1-40-110 (3), and a copy of the proposed measure; succeeding pages that contain the warning, the ballot title, and ruled lines numbered consecutively for registered electors’ signatures; and a final page that contains the affidavit required by section 1-40-111 (2). Each section shall be consecutively prenumbered by the petitioner prior to circulation.

Definition [Committee]

The committee of signers described in section 1-12-108(2). C.R.S. § 1-12-100.5.

Definition [Candidate]

Any person who seeks nomination or election to any state or local public office that is to be voted on in this state at any primary election, general election, school district election, special district election, or municipal election. “Candidate” also includes a judge or justice of any court of record who seeks to be retained in office pursuant to the provisions of section 25 of article VI. A person is a candidate for election if the person has publicly announced an intention to seek election to public office or retention of a judicial office and thereafter has received a contribution or made an expenditure in support of the candidacy. A person remains a candidate for purposes of this article so long as the candidate maintains a registered candidate committee. A person who maintains a candidate committee after an election cycle, but who has not publicly announced an intention to seek election to public office in the next or any subsequent election cycle, is a candidate for purposes of this article. Section 2(2) of article XXVIII of the state constitution.

Cases

Colorado Cases

Case Name: Patterson Recall Comm., Inc. v. Patterson

Citation: 209 P.3d 1210 (Colo. App. 2009)

Year: 2009

Case URL: https://www.ravellaw.com/opinions/6f831f67b9d1e7148a9af85bdb91e29f

Case Summary: Holding that Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) had the authority to sanction an issue committee for violating campaign finance laws; until it was terminated, issue committee was required to continue submitting contribution and expenditure reports after county clerk determined it had not gathered enough signatures to trigger a recall; an ALJ had the discretion to not impose a sanction for a violation of campaign laws; ALJ did not abuse her discretion by not sanctioning the committee for its failure to file reports; and committee's appeal was not frivolous.

Case Name: Independence Inst. v. Coffman

Citation: 209 P.3d 1130 (Colo. App. 2008)

Year: 2008

Case URL: https://www.ravellaw.com/opinions/fba6df6ee0d6ce59259cb6febab8a207

Case Summary: Holding that the phrase “a major purpose” in constitutional campaign and political finance provision defining “issue committee” was not unconstitutionally vague on its face; definition of “issue committee” was not unconstitutionally overbroad on its face; organization had standing to assert that registration and disclosure requirements unconstitutionally burdened its First Amendment rights; organization had impermissibly changed its unconstitutional burden claim on appeal from a facial to an as-applied challenge; and required disclosure of contributions did not violate organization's right to engage in anonymous speech and association.

Out-of-State Cases

Federal Cases

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